Healthcare visits fall into the category of either Emergency or scheduled visits. Post-pandemic, a significant number of people are avoiding their scheduled and routine healthcare visits due to perceived risk of infection. Any delay in treatments could potentially lead to their condition worsening. The demographic of people avoiding their healthcare include people with reduced mobility ( wheelchair or crutch users) - who experienced a shortage of accessible transportation, people with per-existing conditions who were in-fact the most susceptible to contagious diseases, and lastly unpaid adult care takers. Our current mobility options, which include private vehicles, shared services such as Uber and public transport fail to cater to the unique accessibility and hygiene requirements of patients. This lead me to ask if it was possible to address this gap and create a new solution for a very specific purpose ? My research included understanding the pain points of users with a varying degree of mobility, such as the elderly, who found it challenging to enter vehicle with low ceiling and wheelchair user, who found transferring to the car seat tiring or sometimes impossible without assistance. Users also described how frequently touched surfaces, small enclosed areas with poor ventilation and crowding present in shared/public transportation was a cause of concern and lead to anxiety. During my process, I had used a combination of 3D models, tape drawing and projection mapping to ideate, validate and arrive at the final result. The end product was Neon- a non emergecy on demand mobility service designed to bridge the gap between home and healthcare. It is designed to have a minimal footprint on the road (smaller than a compact car), without compromising comfort of the passengers. Neon has a high ceiling and low floor, so that it’s easy for people with limited mobility to enter and exit the vehicle. In the interior, seats are designed to face each other, in order to provide comfort and security for the patient and also enable the caregiver accompanying them. Neon is wheelchair accessible, with an ejecting ramp that meets at curb height. At the center of the vehicle, a rotating pedestal orients the wheelchair user to their seats, and an innovative locking mechanism secures them in place. During their journey to the healthcare center, patients can have an on-route check up with the medical staff. Depending on the condition of the patient, the medical staff can activate the ‘Emergency mode’, where a blue cross illuminates on the exterior. With its many hygiene and accessibility features, Neon provides a seamless experience for the first mile of healthcare.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-198387 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Arvind, Sushil |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Designhögskolan vid Umeå universitet |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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